𝒊𝒊𝒊. 𝐋𝐎𝐘𝐀𝐋𝐓𝐈𝐄𝐒

𝒙𝒗𝒊𝒊𝒊.

"How do you know?" Percy asked. "Why would he care about camp?" 

"Because the gods use heroes as their tools," Chiron said simply. "Destroy the tools, and the gods will be crippled. Luke's forces will come here. Mortal, demigod, monstrous... We must be prepared. Clarisse's news may give us a clue as to how they will attack, but—"

There was a knock on the door, and Nico di Angelo came huffing into the parlor, his cheeks bright red from the cold. 

He was smiling, but he looked around anxiously. "Hey! Where's... where's my sister?" 

Dead silence. Percy stared at Chiron. He couldn't believe nobody had told him yet. And then he realized why. They'd been waiting for the heroes from the quest to appear, to tell Nico in person. 

That was the last thing he wanted to do. But Percy owed it to Bianca. 

"Hey, Nico." Percy got up from his comfortable chair. "Let's take a walk, okay? We need to talk." 

Noelle got up as well. "I'll go with."

Percy looked like he wanted to protest, but before he got the chance Noelle was already walking back outside, guiding Nico by the shoulders.

~

He took the news in silence, which somehow made it worse. Percy kept talking, trying to explain how it had happened, how Bianca had sacrificed herself to save the quest. But he felt like it was only making things worse. Noelle physically comforted him by rubbing his shoulders and gave them gentle squeezes every now and then. Nico didn't bother to shake her off, the actions somehow doing their job of a little comfort.

"She wanted you to have this." Percy brought out the little god figurine Bianca had found in the junkyard. Nico held it in his palm and stared at it. 

They were standing at the dining pavilion, just where Nico and Percy had last spoken before the latter went on the quest. The wind was bitter cold, even with the camp's magical weather protection. Snow fell lightly against the marble steps. Percy figured outside the camp borders, there must be a blizzard happening. 

"You promised you would protect her," Nico said. 

He might as well have stabbed Percy with a rusty dagger. 

It would've hurt less than reminding him of his promise. 

"Nico," Percy said. "I tried. But Bianca gave herself up to save the rest of us. I told her not to. But she—" 

"You promised!" 

He glared at the taller boy, his eyes rimmed with red. He closed his small fist around the god statue. 

"I shouldn't have trusted you." His voice broke. "You lied to me. My nightmares were right!" 

"Wait, nightmares? Nico, what nightmares?" Noelle asked softly from behind Nico.

He pulled himself out of Noelle's grasp and flung the god statue to the ground. It clattered across the icy marble. "I hate you!" 

"She might be alive," Percy said desperately. "I don't know for sure—" 

"She's dead." He closed his eyes. His whole body trembled with rage. "I should've known it earlier. She's in the Fields of Asphodel, standing before the judges right now, being evaluated. I can feel it." 

"What do you mean, you can feel it?" Noelle asked, still in a careful tone.

Before he could answer, Percy heard a new sound behind him. A hissing, clattering noise he recognized all too well. The way Noelle's eyes widened was enough to give away that he wasn't just hearing things.